A former senior US official, Stuart Seldowitz, is under fire after being recorded harassing a halal food vendor in New York City. In a series of disturbing exchanges captured on video, Seldowitz is seen taunting and threatening the vendor, making offensive comments about Prophet Muhammad, and even threatening to use his government connections to mobilize Egypt’s secret police against the vendor. Seldowitz, who had a distinguished career in the State Department, ultimately admitted in an interview with The New York Times that he said things he “probably regrets” and claimed he got upset with the vendor for expressing sympathies for the Palestinian group Hamas, although there is no evidence of the vendor mentioning the group in the videos.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, leading Gotham Government Relations to sever all ties with Seldowitz and scrub his profile from their website. The firm’s CEO, David Schwartz, described Seldowitz’s language as “vile” and offered to legally represent the food vendor pro bono. This incident comes at a time of growing tensions over the 47-day war in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 14,100 Palestinians, including more than a third who were children. This conflict has led to frequent pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations in cities like New York, which has large Muslim and Jewish populations.
The troubling video of a former US official harassing a halal food vendor in New York has sparked outrage and condemnation. Stuart Seldowitz, who had a distinguished career in the State Department, was seen making offensive comments and threats towards the vendor, prompting his former firm to sever all ties with him and offer legal representation to the vendor pro bono. This incident adds to the growing tensions over the 47-day war in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, including many children, and has led to frequent pro-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations in cities across the US. The disturbing nature of the video and Seldowitz’s alarming comments have drawn attention to the need for accountability and respect in discussions surrounding the ongoing conflict.